Those under 16 in Europe will no longer be able to access WhatsApp.

Currently, people using the popular instant messaging service have to be at least 13, but the company is enforcing stricter rules ahead of the introduction of new data privacy rules in the EU next month.

WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, will ask European users to confirm they are at least 16 when they are prompted to accept new terms of service and an updated privacy policy in the coming weeks.

It is not clear how it will verify answers from users, given the limited data requested and held by the service.

WhatsApp, which had more than 1.5 billion users in January, said in a blog post that it will not be asking for any new rights to collect personal information in the agreement.